Sikapur

Sikapur is a German line of silica-based products for skin, hair and nails, marketed under the slogan "Natürliche Schönheit von innen" ("natural beauty from within"). Its range centres on colloidal silicic acid, a gel form of silicon dioxide, taken by mouth or applied to the skin. The brand belongs to Dermapharm AG, a listed pharmaceutical company based in Grünwald near Munich [8].

Sikapur sits at the edge of the beauty category. Only one of its five current products, a shampoo, is labelled a cosmetic. Two are registered medicinal products with traditional-use indications, and two are food supplements. The brand presents itself as a pharmacy product, and it remains active, with a maintained website and updated product information.

The early history of Sikapur is not publicly documented. The company gives no launch year and names no founders. Its website describes the product only as "seit Jahrzehnten bewährt", proven over decades, without dating that claim [2]. When the brand first appeared on the market therefore remains unknown.

The brand's own account of the science reaches back further than the product. When explaining whether silicon is an essential trace element, its FAQ points to research by Professor Edith Muriel Carlisle in the 1970s. This is offered as background on the mineral, not as a date in the brand's own history.

The one dated milestone the company publishes is a product test among pharmacy staff. It ran for three months, from December 2014 to March 2015, and involved 317 participants. Sikapur still cites this test on its website, and it is discussed further below.

Sikapur is owned by Dermapharm AG, whose name appears in the copyright line and the legal notice of the brand's website [4]. The notice describes Dermapharm as a stock corporation registered with the Munich local court and lists three board members: Hans-Georg Feldmeier, Christof Dreibholz and Andreas Eberhorn. When Dermapharm acquired or launched Sikapur has not been disclosed.

Dermapharm itself was founded in 1991 by Wilhelm Beier and has been based in Grünwald since 1998 [8]. It focuses on dermatological and allergological medicines. The company went public in 2018, when the Beier family sold 19.3 percent of its shares, and it is listed in the SDAX index. Its other consumer brands include Cloderm, Melasan, Physiotop and Tebamol.

The legal notice gives the company address with two different postal codes. The address block reads "82031 Grünwald", and the same code appears in the mandatory product text. The line naming the company's registered seat gives "82301 Grünwald" instead [4]. The second figure looks like a transposed typing error. The town is the same in both cases.

A second company appears in Sikapur's product information. The mandatory text for the Silicium Gel skin gel names Anton Hübner GmbH & Co. KG of Ehrenkirchen, without stating its role [5]. Anton Hübner is listed as a Dermapharm subsidiary [8]. Trade press reported in 2011 that Dermapharm was taking over the Hübner group from Nordzucker AG; that group had been formed in 1998 by combining Medopharm and Anton Hübner [9]. No public source states whether Sikapur came to Dermapharm through this deal.

Sikapur builds its identity on a single mineral. The company describes silicon as a trace element found widely in nature, which the body cannot produce and must take in through food. It says silicon influences collagen formation and supports the elasticity and firmness of skin, connective tissue, hair and nails.

The approach is framed as a course rather than a quick fix. According to the brand, the products work best over several months, with a recommended course of two to three months. It says the first results may appear after several weeks.

The brand describes its silicic acid as highly pure and finely dispersed. It says the acid is processed into a colloidal gel by a special method that lets it bind large amounts of water. Sikapur links this water-binding to nutrient transport in cells and to the elasticity of tissue and blood vessels. These are the company's own explanations of how the product works.

On sales, the brand's message is mixed. Its homepage says the products are sold "exklusiv in Ihrer Apotheke vor Ort", exclusively in local pharmacies. The same page lists fifteen online order partners, most of them online pharmacies but also Amazon [1]. The pharmacy channel remains the brand's stated model.

The current range has five products, each placed in a different regulatory class.

- Silicium Gel F is the core product, a silicic acid gel taken by mouth or used on the skin. It is registered as a medicinal product. Its mandatory text, dated May 2025, lists traditional internal use to help prevent brittle fingernails and hair and to strengthen connective tissue. External use is for localised skin irritation [5]. - Silicium Gel is a medicinal skin gel, traditionally used for localised irritation of the skin. - Kieselsäure Softgel-Kapseln are vegan capsules sold as a food supplement for nails, skin and hair. - Kieselsäure Gel-Sticks Rote Beeren are red-berry gel sticks, also sold as a food supplement. - Vital Shampoo + Biotin is the only product classed as a cosmetic and is intended for thicker, shinier hair.

The wording "traditionally used" matters here. It marks an indication based on long-standing use, not proof of efficacy.

Alongside silica, the supplements contain biotin, zinc, selenium and manganese. The brand notes that biotin, zinc and selenium contribute to normal skin, hair and nails, and that manganese contributes to normal connective tissue formation [3].

The brand says the oral products contain no substances of animal origin, which makes them suitable for vegetarians and vegans. It also states that they are free of sugar, lactose, gluten and gelatin, and contain no preservatives or thickeners [6]. Sikapur describes its products as "Made in Germany". No third-party certifications are documented.

The most prominent evidence the brand offers is its own pharmacy test. Over three months, 317 pharmacy staff used the products and rated their skin, hair and nails themselves. According to Sikapur, more than 80 percent reported visible improvements [3]. Around 78 to 79 percent reported better skin moisture and elasticity, about 77 to 82 percent reported better hair, and 81 percent firmer nails. In the same survey, 88 percent said they would recommend the softgel capsules and 85 percent would repeat the course.

The test was run by the brand, and the results were self-assessed. An improvement of at least one point on a six-point scale was counted as significant. It was not an independent clinical trial.

Sikapur is an active brand. Its website carries a 2026 copyright notice from Dermapharm AG, and the product information for Silicium Gel F was updated in May 2025. The website is offered only in German, and the brand's visible presence is concentrated in Germany. The range currently comprises the five products described above, sold mainly through pharmacies.